CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal articles from April 2007

CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal archives from April 2007

Managing physician shortages: we are not doing enough.(GUEST EDITORIAL)(Editorial)
April 10, 2007... Canada is rich in information about our physician shortage but poor on concrete progress. We have a wealth of studies on care delivery models and proffered solutions from associations and governments, yet we continue to have a substantial and...

La gestion des penuries de medecins: nous n'en faisons pas assez.(EDITORIAL INVITE)
April 10, 2007... Au Canada, nous sommes riches en information au sujet de nos penuries de medecins, mais pauvres en progres concrets. Nous disposons de masses d'etudes sur les modeles de prestation des soins et de multitudes de solutions proposees par les...

Estimated 1500 Canadians studying medicine abroad.(NEWS)
April 10, 2007... The number of Canadians studying medicine outside Canada is almost 4 times higher than previously estimated, a new survey indicates. The first of its type, the survey was completed for Health Canada last October by Canadian Resident Matching...

Ireland-trained Canadians go to the Rock.(NEWS)
April 10, 2007... The impact of international medical graduates on Canadian medicine is well known, since they account for about 25% of the physician workforce. Now Newfoundland appears to be setting its recruiting sights on another type of international...

Federal budget delivers on health care but still disappoints.(NEWS)
April 10, 2007... Amulti-million incentive for provinces to establish formal wait time guarantees and recourse mechanisms, and a $300 million start on vaccinating young girls and women against quadrivalent human papillomavirus (HPV) were among $1.4 billion in...

Saskatchewan successfully implementing best practices.(NEWS)
April 10, 2007... One-quarter of family physicians in Saskatchewan have volunteered to participate in a groundbreaking initiative to implement best practices in the treatment of diabetes and coronary artery disease. After one year, the Chronic Disease...

New deputy editor dedicated to knowledge transfer.(NEWS)
April 10, 2007... CMAJ has revitalized its research focus with the appointment of a deputy editor for scientific content. Dr. Matthew Stanbrook, an assistant professor, researcher and specialist in respirology at the Toronto Western Hospital, will oversee...

Pharmacare for children slow to gain ground in NS.(NEWS)(Nova Scotia)(Brief article)
April 10, 2007... Low-income families are not flocking to sign up for Nova Scotia's new Low Income Pharmacare for Children program. To date, approximately 6500 families out of a potentially eligible 35 000 have registered for the program, which was launched Oct....

Proposed Alberta physician agreement sets new template.(NEWS)
April 10, 2007... Canada's wealthiest province has traditionally set the benchmark for physician fee increases across the nation as most jurisdictions believe they must match Alberta or risk having their physicians poached or persuaded to pack their bags for...

News @ a glance.(NEWS)
April 10, 2007... Residency match: In a break with tradition, first-round results of the 2007 match of medical school graduates to discipline and residency positions weren't publicly released at the conclusion of the first iteration (Mar. 14) on the grounds that...

Management of hypothyroidism during pregnancy.(TEACHING CASE REPORT)(Clinical report)
April 10, 2007... The case: A 33-year-old woman had received a diagnosis of primary hypothyroidism when she was 23 years of age and had been taking an essentially stable dose of levothyroxine (0.112 mg/d) for at least 2 years. The patient began taking folic acid...

Upper-extremity deep-vein thrombosis in an elderly man.(CLINICAL VISTAS)(Clinical report)
April 10, 2007... A79-year-old man presented after a week of pleuritic-type chest pain, dyspnea and a swollen, painful left arm. His past medical history included benign prostatic hypertrophy, vitiligo, hearing loss and a combat wound to the chest experienced 58...

The Canadian contribution to the US physician workforce.(RESEARCH)
April 10, 2007... ABSTRACT Background: A physician shortage has been declared in both Canada and the United States. We sought to examine the migration pattern of Canadian-trained physicians to the United States, the contribution of this migration to the...

The appropriateness of asymmetry tests for publication bias in meta-analyses: a large survey.(RESEARCH)(Clinical report)
April 10, 2007... ABSTRACT Background: Statistical tests for funnel-plot asymmetry are common in meta-analyses. Inappropriate application can generate misleading inferences about publication bias. We aimed to measure, in a survey of meta-analyses, how...

Falsely elevated point-of-care lactate measurement after ingestion of ethylene glycol.(Case report)(Clinical report)
April 10, 2007... ABSTRACT Background: A patient presented with severe acidosis and a point-of-care lactate measurement of 42 mmol/L. Mesenteric ischemia was suspected, with a potential need for laparotomy; however, plasma lactate measurements were below 4...

Synopsis of the 2006 Canadian clinical practice guidelines on the management and prevention of obesity in adults and children.(COMMENTARY)
April 10, 2007... The 2006 Canadian clinical practice guidelines on the management and prevention of obesity in adults and children have been prepared as a supplement to this issue of CMAJ (a summary of the guidelines is included in the polywrap of this issue,...

Management and prevention of obesity in adults and children.(COMMENTARY)
April 10, 2007... As noted in the 2006 Canadian Clinical Practice Guidelines on the Management and Prevention of Obesity in Adults and Children, included as a supplement to this issue of CMAJ (the full document is available online at...

Hypertriglyceridemia: its etiology, effects and treatment.(REVIEW)(Disease/Disorder overview)
April 10, 2007... ABSTRACT Elevated plasma triglyceride concentration is a common biochemical finding, but the evidence for the benefit of treating this lipid disturbance remains less robust than that for treating elevated low-density...

Bias in revascularization study.(Letter to the editor)
April 10, 2007... We believe that the survival benefit of revascularization in patients with heart failure was probably overestimated in the study by Ross Tsuyuki and colleagues (1) because of time-dependent bias. (2) Time-dependent bias can occur whenever...

Improving organ donation in Canada.(Letter to the editor)
April 10, 2007... The Canadian Council for Donation and Transplantation (CCDT) agrees with some of the issues raised by Wayne Kondro. (1) There is indeed fragmentation in the organization of the organ and tissue donation and transplantation system in Canada, and...

Auspitz sign-off.(LETTERS)
April 10, 2007... I read with interest the Clinical Vistas Brief by Ahmad Ayaz Sabri and Muhammad Ahad Qayyum. (1) Papillary bleeding upon removal of psoriatic scales has been called the Auspitz sign, but the phenomenon was described by several authors before...

Uninsured patients undergoing dialysis in Greece.(Letter to the editor)(Brief article)
April 10, 2007... We agree with Paul Caulford and Yasmin Vali that uninsured immigrant and refugee patients are undertreated. (1) In Greece, uninsured patients with end-stage renal disease cannot be registered to undergo regular hemodialysis. However, emergent...

Treatment of chronic respiratory diseases in obese people.(Letter to the editor)
April 10, 2007... Magali Poulain and colleagues do not appear to have considered the action of the renin-angiotensin system in their review of the effect of obesity on chronic respiratory diseases. (1) A recent study showed increased activation of the...

Correction.(Correction notice)
April 10, 2007... In a recent article, (1) the subheading "The induction procedure for mild hyperthermia" should have read "The induction procedure for mild hypothermia." We regret the error. REFERENCE 1. Green RS, Howes DW. Stock your emergency...

Atteindre la centaine: William Henry Drummond.(Room for a view)
April 10, 2007... The centenary of a poet's death is a fit occasion for a reconsideration of his poetry and achievements. William Henry Drummond (ne William Henry Drumm) was born 13 April 1854, in County Leitrim, Ireland, and died 6 April 1907 in the mining...

First a physician.(Annotations)(William Henry Drummond)(Personal account)(Biography)
April 10, 2007... William Henry Drummond (1854-1907) is internationally known as a poet. His life as a physician is often overlooked. He died in 1907, in Cobalt, a rough new mining town in northern Ontario. He owned a silver mine there and could have stayed in...

A self-guided journey to health.(Navigating Canada's Health Care: A User Guide to Getting the Care You Need)(Book review)
April 10, 2007... Navigating Canada's health care: A user guide to getting the care you need Michael Decter and Francesca Grosso Penguin Group; 2006 358 pp $26.00 ISBN 0-14-305045-2 Through a life cycle approach, this book coaches readers to...

Deaths.
April 10, 2007... NOTICE Readers are invited to submit brief remembrances of recently departed colleagues. Colourful writing is encouraged, but please limit your notice to 150 words. Send to pubs@cma.ca; fax 613 565-5471. Berkeley, James Alfred,...

Query.
April 10, 2007... Ilike CME. I like the camaraderie. I like learning new things. For me, there are 2 types of CME: "big" CME, where the groups are large, sometimes in lecture halls, and "small" CME, which often happens in restaurants. Each has its...

2006 Canadian clinical practice guidelines on the management and prevention of obesity in adults and children [summary].(Clinical report)
April 10, 2007... Obesity is now reaching epidemic proportions in both developed and developing countries and is affecting not only adults but also children and adolescents. Over the last 20 years, obesity has become the most prevalent nutritional problem in the...

Lignes directrices canadiennes de 2006 sur la prise en charge et la prevention de l'obesite chez les adultes et les enfants [sommaire].
April 10, 2007... L'obesite atteint maintenant des proportions epidemiques tant dans les pays industrialises que dans les pays en developpement, et touche non seulement les adultes, mais aussi les enfants et les adolescents. Depuis 20 ans, l'obesite est devenue...

Canada's fevered failure on malaria.(Editorial)
April 24, 2007... Canadians pride themselves on being citizens of a humanitarian nation. But when it comes to the infectious disease that kills more African children than any other--malaria--the indolence of Canada's government is baffling and embarrassing. ...

L'echec febrile du Canada face au paludisme.(EDITORIAL)(Editorial)
April 24, 2007... Les Canadiens sont fiers d'etre citoyens d'un pays humanitaire. Or, face a la maladie infectieuse qui tue plus d'enfants africains que toute autre--le paludisme--la nonchalance du gouvernement du Canada est deconcertante et embarrassante. ...

Health Canada proposes new regulatory regime for drugs.(NEWS)
April 24, 2007... It seems a simple quid pro quo. Under a new regulatory regime for pharmaceuticals and biologics, Health Canada is proposing to lower the threshold for initial market authorization licenses in exchange for additional safety and efficacy studies...

Need to lobby for access to asthma medications.(NEWS)
April 24, 2007... Doctors should unite to lobby governments to ensure that the increasing numbers of asthma and allergy sufferers have access to necessary medications, says Dr. Susan Waserman, past-president of the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical...

UK doctors may lose self-regulation.(NEWS)
April 24, 2007... A proposal from the United Kingdom Department of Health could bring an end to the era of professional self-regulation for doctors and other health professions by 2008. A Department spokesman said the question of self-regulation arose in...

The Lancet protests against its publisher's arms fair business.(NEWS)
April 24, 2007... The Lancet, long an influential international voice on the adverse health consequences of war and violence, is again calling on its publisher to sell its arms fairs. But this time, The Lancet's call is echoed by, among others, the BMJ, the...

Earliest issues of CMAJ now available online.(NEWS)(Canadian Medical Association Journal)
April 24, 2007... Thousands of hard-to-find back issues of CMAJ and other journals, including one dating to 1865, are now available online thanks to the 4-year-old digitization project at PubMed Central (PMC), the giant online resource at the US National Library...

More calls for ethical investing.(NEWS)(MD Management Ltd.)
April 24, 2007... The Saskatchewan Medical Association (SMA) is calling on the CMA's investment arm, MD Management Ltd., to create an ethical funds portfolio so physicians do not have to invest in companies involved in the arms trade. CMA Holdings, which...

The envelope please: 2007 Gairdner winners.(NEWS)(biomedical research)
April 24, 2007... Five world-class biomedical scientists are this year's Gairdner International recipients. The winners, which were announced on Apr. 18, will each receive $30 000, a certificate and a La Couer statue in Toronto on Oct. 25. Founded in 1959...

News @ a glance.(NEWS)(Internet drug sales down)(global tuberculosis epidemic levels off)(Brief article)
April 24, 2007... Internet drug sales down: Canadian Internet pharmacy sales to the United States plummeted nearly 50% in 2006, compared with 2005, reports IMS Health Canada, which provides market information on the pharmaceutical and health care industries. In...

A 48-year-old woman with lymphangioleiomyomatosis.(TEACHING CASE REPORT)(Clinical report)
April 24, 2007... The case: A 48-year-old woman visited her family physician because of gradual-onset dyspnea, fatigue and an occasional cough. Dyspnea occurred when the patient walked up stairs, in the cold or against the wind, but it did not occur when she was...

Behcet's disease.(CLINICAL VISTAS)(Clinical report)
April 24, 2007... A 27-year-old man of Middle Eastern descent presented to the hospital after waking with severely reduced visual acuity in his left eye. Several months before presentation he had experienced an episode of reduced visual acuity in his right eye...

Pathergy.(CLINICAL VISTAS BRIEF)(Brief article)
April 24, 2007... This man sustained a few minor scratches by accident. Over the next day, pustular erythematous lesions developed at these sites. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Pathergy describes a nonspecific skin hyperreactivity and is one of the diagnostic...

The influence of a disaster on the health of rescue workers: a longitudinal study.(RESEARCH)(Clinical report)
April 24, 2007... ABSTRACT Background: Rescue workers strive, after disasters, to help victims and restrict damage, often in dangerous circumstances. We examined the effect of a disaster on the physical and psychological health of rescue workers...

The consequences of waiting for cataract surgery: a systematic review.(RESEARCH)(Clinical report)
April 24, 2007... ABSTRACT Background: Cataract surgery is the most common operative procedure performed in Canada, and how patients are affected by wait times for this surgery has important clinical, public health and health policy considerations. We...

The long-term health consequences of disasters and mass traumas.(COMMENTARY)(Clinical report)
April 24, 2007... In recent years, high-profile disasters, including the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City, the March 11, 2004 train bombings in Madrid and Hurricane Katrina on the US Gulf Coast, have been accompanied by a surge in scientific...

Evolution in the practice of pharmacy--not a revolution!(COMMENTARY)
April 24, 2007... In an era of rapid change in health care delivery, the pharmacy profession is experiencing significant growth and development. Although pharmacists represent a traditional health profession with ancient roots, they are often viewed with...

Sleep and aging: 1. Sleep disorders commonly found in older people.(REVIEW)(Disease/Disorder overview)
April 24, 2007... ABSTRACT Aging is associated with several well-described changes in patterns of sleep. Typically, there is a phase advance in the normal circadian sleep cycle: older people tend to go to sleep earlier in the evening but also to wake...

Auricular acupuncture.(Letter to the editor)
April 24, 2007... Neither the study by Taras Usichenko (1) on auricular acupuncture for pain relief nor the accompanying commentary (2) provide any information on the nature of the treatment that was being tested. One might be forgiven for assuming that...

Fundamental problem with opioid trials for chronic pain.(Letter to the editor)
April 24, 2007... One problem with research on opioids for noncancer pain, in addition to those outlined by Andrea Furlan and associates, (1) is the cognitive effect of these drugs, which makes it difficult to compare them with either placebo or active placebo...

Public involvement in guideline development.(Letter to the editor)
April 24, 2007... Allan Detsky's timely editorial (1) invites us to take a broader look at the biases that shape the recommendations in clinical practice guidelines, beyond financial links with the pharmaceutical industry. We strongly support Detsky's suggestion...

Sudden infant death syndrome.(Letter to the editor)
April 24, 2007... The review article about sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), by Carl Hunt and Fern Hauck, (1) was enlightening. However, it was somewhat discouraging in its equivocal negation of the utility of postdelivery electrocardiography. It is the...

Clarification of the CMA's position concerning induced abortion.(Canadian Medical Association)(Letter to the editor)
April 24, 2007... A recent editorial in CMAJ (1) and subsequent letters to the editor have raised several questions about the Canadian Medical Association's position on induced abortion. I would like to clarify that position with this illustrative case. ...

Corrections.(Correction notice)
April 24, 2007... In the supplement to the March 13 issue of CMAJ, (1) the term "neuropathy" was omitted from a list that appears on page 15 under the heading "Diabetes-related vasculopathy" and the subheading "Microvasculature." That list should have read as...

Who will judge?(Room for a view)(physician practice)
April 24, 2007... Do you know why you're here?" Truth be told, I thought that was all I did know; that and the fact that in life I had been a physician. I certainly didn't know where "here" was, and wasn't too sure who "I" was... Can you remember who...

Life, death and the power of the Real.(Lifeworks)(National Gallery of Canada)
April 24, 2007... Ron Mueck National Gallery of Canada Mar. 2-May 6, 2007 The exhibition of 16 remarkably realistic figurative sculptures by artist Ron Mueck at the National Gallery of Canada is both stunning and contemplative. Often described as...

Barclay.(DEATHS)(Barclay, Thomas Hugh Crawford)(Obituary)
April 24, 2007... Barclay, Thomas Hugh Crawford, Brentwood Bay, BC; University of Glasgow, Scotland, 1940. Died Jan. 12, 2007, aged 91. NOTICE Readers are invited to submit brief remembrances of recently departed colleagues. Colourful writing is...

Barker.(DEATHS)(Barker, Harold Madill)(Obituary)
April 24, 2007... Barker, Harold Madill, Edmonton; University of Western Ontario, 1950, psychiatry. Died Jan. 19, 2007, aged 86.

Belyea.(DEATHS)(Belyea, Stephen Charles)(Obituary)
April 24, 2007... Belyea, Stephen Charles, Guelph, Ont.; University of Western Ontario, 1984, family medicine. Died Jan. 12, 2007, aged 47.

Casey.(DEATHS)(Casey, Ronald Jack Jr.)(Obituary)
April 24, 2007... Casey, Ronald Jack Jr., Edmonton; University of Alberta, 1984. "Ophthalmology 1989; University of London, United Kingdom, ocular pathology 1990; Moorfields Eye Hospital, United Kingdom, glaucoma 1991. Died Jan. 17, 2007, aged 47. Ron was a...

Christie.(DEATHS)(Christie, Reginald George)(Obituary)
April 24, 2007... Christie, Reginald George, West Vancouver; University of Alberta, 1945, psychiatry. Died Jan. 17, 2007, aged 86.

Cohen.(DEATHS)(Cohen, Matthew Howard)(Obituary)
April 24, 2007... Cohen, Matthew Howard, Winnipeg; University of Manitoba, 1988, anesthesia. Died Jan. 16, 2007, aged 42.

Cumberland.(DEATHS)(Cumberland, June Rosamond)(Obituary)
April 24, 2007... Cumberland, June Rosamond, Montreal; McGill University, 1955, psychiatry. Died Jan. 11, 2007, aged 84.

Ducharme.(DEATHS)(Ducharme, Jacques R.)(Obituary)
April 24, 2007... Ducharme, Jacques R., Montreal; Universite de Montreal, 1954, endocrinology. Died Nov. 26, 2006, aged 78.

Flatman.(DEATHS)(Flatman, John Garneys)(Obituary)
April 24, 2007... Flatman, John Garneys, Timmins, Ont.; University of London, United Kingdom, 1957, diagnostic radiology. Died Jan. 12, 2007, aged 76.

Gergely.(DEATHS)(Gergely, Nicholas Frank)(Obituary)
April 24, 2007... Gergely, Nicholas Frank, Ancaster, Ont.; Semmelweis Orvostudomanyi Egyetem, Hungary, 1951, cardiovascular and thoracic surgery. Died Dec. 13, 2006, aged 79.

Hacking.(DEATHS)(Hacking, Annette Elisabeth)(Obituary)
April 24, 2007... Hacking, Annette Elisabeth, Vancouver; University of British Columbia, 1985, psychiatry. Died Jan. 9, 2007, aged 48.

Hall.(DEATHS)(Hall, William Edward)(Obituary)
April 24, 2007... Hall, William Edward, North York, Ont.; University of Toronto, 1938, internal medicine. Died Jan. 17, 2007, aged 93.

Keene.(DEATHS)(Keene, John David)(Obituary)
April 24, 2007... Keene, John David, Regina; University of Manitoba, 1939, anesthesia. Died Jan. 14, 2007, aged 91.

Lannon.(DEATHS)(Lannon, Stan Gerard)(Obituary)
April 24, 2007... Lannon, Stan Gerard, Halifax; Dalhousie University, 1957, urology. Died Jan. 19, 2007, aged 74. "Following graduation from Dalhousie University, he did postgraduate work in Halifax, Toronto and Montreal. He returned to Dalhousie University in...

Lazarovits.(DEATHS)(Lazarovits, Stephen Istvan)(Obituary)
April 24, 2007... Lazarovits, Stephen Istvan, York, Ont.; Semmelweis Orvostudomanyi Egyetem, Hungary, 1945. Died Jan. 14, 2007, aged 86.

Lemelin.(DEATHS)(Lemelin, Fernand)(Obituary)
April 24, 2007... Lemelin, Fernand, Quebec; Universite Laval, 1942, psychiatry. Died Apr. 1, 2006, aged 91.

Marcoux.(DEATHS)(Marcoux, Andre)(Obituary)
April 24, 2007... Marcoux, Andre, Valcourt, Que.; Universite Laval, 1962. Died Apr. 2, 2006, aged 71.

Paquet.(DEATHS)(Paquet, Bernard)(Obituary)
April 24, 2007... Paquet, Bernard, Saint-Laurent, Que.; Universite de Montreal, 1959. Died Apr. 21, 2005, aged 72.

Prevost.(DEATHS)(Prevost, Yves)(Obituary)
April 24, 2007... Prevost, Yves, Montreal; Universite de Montreal, 1948, plastic surgery. Died Aug. 2, 2006, aged 83.

Robinson.(DEATHS)(Robinson, Edward Stanley)(Obituary)
April 24, 2007... Robinson, Edward Stanley, Richmond, BC; Oxford University Medical School, United Kingdom, 1955. Died Jan. 8, 2007, aged 80.

Sanson.(DEATHS)(Sanson, Jorge Borres Jr.)(Obituary)
April 24, 2007... Sanson, Jorge Borres Jr., Kentville, NS; Matias H. Aznar Memorial College of Medicine, Philippines, 1960, general surgery. Died Jan. 11, 2007, aged 71.

Sibley.(DEATHS)
April 24, 2007... Sibley, John Thomas, Saskatoon; University of Western Ontario, 1977, rheumatology. Died Jan. 16, 2007, aged 55. "Upon completing specialty training in internal medicine and rheumatology, he became a professor of internal medicine. John was very...

Somerleigh.(DEATHS)(Edward Roy Somerleigh)(Obituary)(Brief article)
April 24, 2007... Somerleigh, Edward Roy, North York, Ont.; Queen's University, 1953. Died Jan. 4, 2007, aged 89.

Warshawski.(DEATHS)
April 24, 2007... Warshawski, Stanley Joseph, Edmonton; University of Alberta, 1943, otolaryngology. Died Jan. 13, 2007, aged 90.

Query.
April 24, 2007... Happiness. What is it? Where is it? When is it? At first I thought I'd be happy when I got accepted into medical school. Then I thought I'd be happy when I became a doctor. Then I thought I'd be happy when I finished residency and was...